Cotton-chopping machine.



M. C. BREWER. COTTON CHOPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR- l9, I913.

THE NORklS PETERS C0.. PHDTO-LITHO WASHINGTON. D. C.

WITNESSES 797M M. C. BREWER. COTTON CHOPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILEDAPR. 19. 1913.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR fl/M W/TIVESSES THE NORRIS PETERS 60.,FHOTD-LITHCL, WASHINGTON, D. c.

M. C. BREWER. COTTON CHOPPINGMACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. I913.

3 SHEET$SHEET 3.

Ko- 1 9 1 2 L p A d m M Di THE NORRIS PETERS CO4 PHOTO-LITHO,WASHINGTON, D. C.

MALIOHI Cl. BREXVER, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

COTTON-CHOPPING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

Application filed April 19, 1913. Serial No. 762,316.

T aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, Mamet-I1 C. BREWER, acitizen of the Jnited States, residing at Nashville, in the county ofDavidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Cotton- Ghopping Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for chopping andthinning cotton, and the primary object of the invention is to improvethe construction and facilitate the operation of that class of cottonchoppers in which the chopping mechanism is actuated in approximately anelliptical path at right angles to and across the row of cotton plants.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of meanswhereby lateral adjustment of the chopping blade may be accomplishedduring the forward movement of the machine without in any wayinterfering with or altering the course of the said machine.

A still further object of the invention contemplates the provision ofmeans including a pivotally supported supplementary frame wherebyvertical adjustment of the cutting or chopping blade is permitted forvarying the degree or extent of the cut, or for allow.- ing certaincotton plants to remain uncut if so desired.

A still further object of the invention contemplates the provision of amachine of this character whereby motion is derived by suitable gearing,from the main axle of the machine upon which the supporting wheels arearranged, the said machine adapted to be operated or forwarded (ifdesired) independent of the operating mechanism carried thereby.

The invention still further resides in the provision of a cottonchopping machine which is not only simple and durable in constructionbut reliable and efficient in operation and one which can bemanufactured and placed upon the market at a comparatively low cost, thesaid machine being adapted if occasion demands, to be operated inconnection with a cultivator of any of the well known types.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by'such means as areillustrated in the preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings,described in the following specification and then more particularlypointed out in the claims which are appended hereto.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views and in which;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine construction in accordancewith my inventlon, one of the supporting wheels being re moved; Fig. 2is a top plan View of the machine; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3of Fig. 1; Fig. 4E is an enlarged elevation of the means employed forthrowing the mech anism into and out of operative, condition; and Fig. 5is an enlarged sectional view of one of the bearings. Fig. 6 is asection on the line 66 of Fig. 2-; and Fig. '2' is an enlarged sectionon the line 77 of Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawings wherein. is illustrated the preferred formof my invention, the numeral 1 designates the main shaft or axle of themachine having the usual supporting wheels 2 arranged upon each endthereof, the said axle or shaft supporting the main frame 30f themachine. Arranged in spaced relation to the said frame 3, and supportedthereover by means of suitable bearings, designated in their entirety bythe numeral 4 I provide a second or supplementary frame 5 upon which ismounted the operating mechanism comprising the invention.

A brace bar or beam 6 extends across the main frame 3 of the machine andhas pivotally supported thereon through the medium of an upwardlyprojecting stud 7 a suitable. plate 8, the latter adapted to he swungupon its pivot point 7 for laterally adjusting the cutting blade of themachine in a manner to be hereinafter fully described.

A gear wheel 9 is keyed or otherwise fixedly secured to the main shaft 1of the machine for imparting motion to the several mechanisms comprisingthe invention, the said wheel 9 meshing into a smaller gear wheel 10mounted upon one end of a driving shaft 11, the said shaft beingjournaled within the bearings 4 above mentioned. One of the bearings 4,the one into which the stud 7 extends, is fixedly mounted upon the platemember 8 adjacent the gear wheel 10 from which point lateral, as well asvertical movement or adjustment of the supplementary frame is provided.To facilitate both vertical and lateral adjustment of the frame, thelatter being carried by the power shaft 11, a universal coupling 12isprovided for the said'shaft, the said coupling being disposed platemember 8 has a dove-tail projection 13 formed integrally therewith, thesaid projection'extending through an arcuate slot let formed within thebeam 6 and described from the pivotal point created by the stud 7. Theprovision of the said dove tail projection 13 is adapted to limit thepivotal movement of the said plate and the supplementary frame 5supported thereupon'as well as produce a secure connection between thesaid bearing and the said plate. A sleeve 15 is arranged upon the powershaft 11 near each end thereof, the said sleeve fitting within thebearings 4 and extending or projecting in wardly toward the center ofthe machine so as to allow the sides of the supplementary frame 5 to beloosely mounted thereupon.

A spring actuated segmental rack 16 is disposed upon the rear end of themain frame 3 for the purpose of supporting the supplementary frame 5 inits vertically adjusted position, said rack being adapted for engagementwith a bracket 19 affixed to the supplementary frame, the free end ofthe bracket being provided with an arcuate extension, open, asshown toadvantage in Fig. 2 to provide for the reception of the said rack bar16. I During lateral adjustment of the supplementary frame, the rack bar16 is adapted to operate or engage the arcuate outer edge of the archedextensions of the bracket 19, such engagement permitting the desiredlateral adjustment yet at the same time preventing any verticaladjustment by reason of the engagement of the teeth of the rack bar withthe bracket. Were it desired that the supplementary frame 5 bevertically adjusted, rack bar 16 is moved against its spring retainingmeans until the teeth thereof disengage the arched portion of thebracket, in which event said supplementary frame is bodily movedvertically or upon its pivotal support.

Having described the means employed for verticallyadjusting the frame 5,the detail construction and operation of the means provided for thepurpose of laterally adjusting the said frame will now be set forth. Bypivotally mounting the plate 8 upon the stud 7 and limiting the pivotalmovement of the said'plate by means of the arcuate slot 1 1 abovementioned, it will be seen that the forward end of the said frame isswung laterally when the plate 8 is moved or swung uponits fixed pivot.A second hand lever 20 is arranged upon the main frame 3 and is securedto a pivoted link member 21 disposed upon the under face of the bracebar or beam 6 by means of a connecting rod 22. The opposite end of thesaid pivoted link 21 from that to which the rod 22 is connected is alsoprovided with a connecting rod 23, the extremity of which is in turnconnected to the under face of the plate member 8 as is clearly shown at24: in Fig. 2 of the drawings. By shifting or operating the hand lever20, it will be seen that the link member 21 is swung upon its pivot toeffect the desired pivotal movement of the plate member 8, which will inturn swing the supplementary frame 5 in the desired manner.

A disk 25 is keyed or otherwise fixedly secured to the power shaft 11 ofthe machine and adapted to frictionally engage a second disk 26 likewisemounted upon a shaft 27, journaled within bearings 28 carried by thesupplementary frame 5, the said shaft 27 extending in a transversedirection to that of the power shaft 11. A wheel or disk 29 is securedupon the forward end of the shaft 27 and has projecting from one facethereof an eccentrically mounted pin 30, upon which a crank arm 31 isloosely mounted, the said arm being connected at its opposite end to adepending blade supporting arm 32, the latter being loosely mounted upona third shaft 33 arranged within a bearing 34: supported by thesupplementary frame 5 at the forward end thereof. The cutting blade 35of the machine is carried by the depending arm or link 32, the saidblade having a cutting edge formed upon each side thereof as is clearlyshown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Motion being imparted to the shaft 27through the medium of the disks 25 and 26, it will be seen that anoscillatory movement is imparted to the blade 35 by reason of itspivotal support taken in connection with the eccentrically disposed pinof the wheel 29, this construction operating the said blade 35 in anoscillatory manner transversely of the rows over which the machine istraveling.

Proceeding now to the description of the means employed. for throwingthe disks 25 and 26 out of frictional engagement, the numeral 36designates a hand lever fixedly supported upon an enlargement or casing37 formed upon the rear end of the supplementary frame 5, the said leverhaving a hand operated connecting rod 38 pivoted thereto as at 39 bymeans of which a bell crank lever 40 arranged within the said casing 37is operated, one end of the said lever 40 is adapted to normally engagethe rear end of a rod 11, the forward end of the said rod abuttingagainst the rear face of the frietion disk 26. By operating the bellcrank lever as above set forth, the said rod 4-1 is forced forwardly,such forward movement forcing the shaft 27 in a like manner and thewheel 26 out of frictional engagement msaeeo with the wheel 25 of thepower shaft 11, thereby allowingthe said shaft 11 to rotate withoutimparting motion to the oscillating blade 35. 1 A spring l2is disposedupon the l through which the power shaft 11 extends,

the said bracket 45 having an elongated opening l6 formed therein so asto allow the said shaft 11 to extend therethrough without in any wayinterfering with the functions required of the said rod 41.

It will be seen from the above, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings that the'operator from his seat 47 arranged at therear of the machine, has absolute control of the various adjustmentsnecessary in operating the machine; that the hoe or cutting blade 35 iskept'on the cotton row at all times by reason of the lateral adjustmentprovided for the supplementary frame 5; and that the said hoe or blademay be raised or lowered as occasion demands for varying the degree orextent of cut by op erating the hand lever 17 provided for that purpose.

In reductlon .to practice, I have foundthat the form of my invention,illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above 7 description,as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practical; yetrealizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my devicewill necessarily vary, I desire toemphasize the fact that various minorchanges in details of construction proportion and arrangement of partsmay be resorted to,,when required, without sac.- rificing any of theadvantages of my invention. V Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new. and desire to secure by 7 Letters Patents is:

1. In a cotton chopping machine, a'main frame, an operating shafttherefor, asupplemental frame mounted for vertical pivotal movement uponthe said operating shaft, :1- base plate to which the said supplementalframe is secured, the said base plate being pivoted'to the said mainframe at one side thereof, means carried by the said base plate andengaging the said main frame to limit the pivotal movement of the saidsupplemental frame, and means carried by the said main frame forlaterally and vertically adjusting the said supplemental frameindependent of the said main frame, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a cotton chopping machine, a main frame, supplemental framedisposed above the said mam frame, a base plate to which the,said.supplemental-frame is secured, an operating shaft carried by thesaid base plate,

the said shaft adapted to form a pivotal support for the saidsupplemental frame,

means, carried by the said main frame for vertically adjusting thesaidsupplemental frameupon the pivot formed by the said operating shaft,a stud carried by the said main frame at one side thereof,'a bearing forthe said stud, carried by the said base plate, theisaid supplementalframe adapted to be pivotally supported by the said-stud, means carriedby the said base plate and engaging the said main frame for limiting thelateral pivotal movement of the said supplemental frame, and meanscarried by the said main frame for laterally adjusting said supplementalframe, as and for thepurposeset forth. a

3. In a cotton chopping machine,sa main wheeled frame, a plate memberpivotally mountedupon the said main frame, bearings carried by the saidplate member, a driven shaftjournaled within the'said bearmgs, the saidshaft being connected to the vwheels of the machine, adepending'projection formed upon one of said bearings 6X- tendingthrough an opening formed within the said main frame for limiting thepivotal movement of the said plate member, a supplementary frame carriedby the said plate member, the said supplementary frame being looselymounted upon the said driven shaft, means for vertically adjusting thesaid supplementary frame, and means'for laterally ad ustmg the frameindependent of the said vertical adjustment.

4. In a cotton chopping machine, a main wheeled frame, a brace beamextending transversely of the frame, a plate member pivotally mountedupon the said beam near one end thereof, bearings carried by the saidplate at each end thereof, a studshaft projecting from the said beaminto one of the said bearings for pivotally mounting the said platemember, a projection depending from the opposite bearing extendingthrough an arcuate slot formed within the said brace beam for limitingthe pivotal movement of the said brace member, a driven shaft journaledwithin the said bearings, means, for

imparting motion to the said driven shaft from the wheels of themachine, a supplesaid driven shaft, and means for vertically adjustingthe said frame.

5. In a cotton chopping machine, a main wheeled frame, a brace beamextending transversely of the said frame, a plate mem ber pivotallymounted upon the said beam, bearings disposed upon each end of the saidplatemember, a vertically extending stud shaft projecting into one ofthesaid bear- .mentary frame loosely mounted upon the j carried by thesaid plate. member, a driven shaft journaled Within" ings and throughthe said plate member for pivota'lly mounting the-latter upon the saidbeam, a-dove tail projection dependingfrom the said bearings extendingthrough an arcu'ate slot formed .Within the said beam for I v limitingthe movement of the said plate 1 member, sleeves loosely mounted withinthe said bearings, a driven shaft j ournaled Within the saidsleevesof'the bearings, means for rotating the said driven shaft according tothe rotation of the Wheels of the machine, a

" a supplementary 1 frame pivotally mounted uponthe said sleeves, andmeans including a pairof levers arranged upon I the said main frame forlaterally or vertically ad usting the said supplementary frame.

r 6. In a cotton chopping machine, a-main frame, a supplementaryframecarried by the said mainframe,

means for laterally adjusting. the said supplementary frame, a drivenshaft upon which thesaid supplementary frame is mounted, means for vertically adjusting the said supplementary i f'iame, means connecting thesaid driven '25 a shaft'carried by the said supplementary frame,friction disks carried by the said bearings, a

' supplementary framepivotally, mounted f the rotation of the vvheels ofthe machine, a

uponthe said bearings, motionto the said driven shaft according tosecond shaft carried by the saidsupplementary frame extend ngm atransverse direction to the said firstmentioned shaft, frici I tiondisks carried by the said tWo shafts for imparting motion from one tothe other l thereof, spring control means carried by the I Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for five cents each,

saidsupplementary frame for longitudinally means for imparting trieallymounted upon sliding the said second mentioned shaft and throwing thesaid two disks out of frictional engagement, a wheel mounted upon memberpivotally mounted near one end of the said beam, bearings disposed uponthe said plate member, a dove tail projection depending from one of thesaid bearings extending through an arcuate slot formed within the saidbeam for limiting the pivotal movement of the said plate member, sleevescarried by the said bearings, a driven shaft journaled Within the saidsleeves, means for imparting motion to the said driven shaft fromthe'wheels of the machine, a supplementary framecarried by the saidplate member and pivotally mounted upon the said sleeves, and meansincluding a pair of hand levers arranged upon the main frame forlaterally and vertically adjusting the said supplementary frame,

a second shaft extending transversely of the said first mentioned shaft,friction disks carried by the said two shafts for imparting motion fromone to the other thereof, a bar slidably mounted upon the saidsupplementary frame adapted to engage the disk of the secondmentionedshaft, spring control means for sliding the said bar fordisengaging the said two disks, a wheel carried by the said secondmentioned shaft, a chopping blade pivotally suspended from the saidsupplementary frame, and means including an arm eccenthe said wheel andconnected to the said blade for oscillating the latter according to therotation of the said second mentioned shaft.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' MALICHI O. BREWER. Witnesses I F. H. SMALLWoon, IRA W. BREWER.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0'.

